For You
by HeteroCookie
Summary: Tired of the character bashing of FF7/Advent characters? Matured from your phase of all that isn't pretty isn't worth it? Then this story is for you. A collection of ficlets to show that, yes, some of us do care about the rejects and main isn't everything
1. For Loz

_A/N: This is the first part of a series of appreciation fics that I am doing. I'm tired of all of the character bashing I see in most fics (and shamefully wrote myself, thank the Gods and Goddesses I grew up) so I'm writing a fic full of appreciation for those characters that people just seem to ignore, hate, or just don't think is better than the main characters for some reason. Another note: I'm picking FF7/Advent Children characters based on the lack of use or amounts of hatred I've read in fics. If you have something you want to point out, please do._

_There isn't any real pairings, but those mentioned are strictly het. So sorry._

_Disclaimer: disclaimed._

* * *

**For Loz,**

**Though you are different from your brothers and misunderstood, I hope that someday someone can appreciate you utterly.**

**Sincerely,**

**A fan**

* * *

Loz stared down at his hands, deep in thought, as his brothers bickered behind him. He was thinking about things; things he really didn't want to think about. The most important of these thoughts centered around two people; Jenova and Sephiroth.

To him, Jenova is mother. Jenova is grand. Jenova is great. Jenova is everything and yet...and yet, to him, Jenova is nothing. She doesn't care about him, about Yazoo, about Kadaj, no. She only cared about Sephiroth. Always Sephiroth. Never them. She didn't want them, didn't want the disobedient blonde, she wanted her special child, her Sephiroth.

Always Sephiroth.

The two behind him, though adamant about their love for Jenova, he knew at times they felt hurt by her. Because they knew they were not needed, not wanted, not loved. They knew they were not Sephiroth. And they didn't want to be him. They hated him, hated the thought of him, the sound of his name. But they didn't hate him as much as Loz.

Ever since they were first created, first breathed life, it was their jobs to be Sephiroth or to bring him back. All of them were born with the same looks; same eyes, same hair, same teeth, same everything. And all of them looked like him. Looked like Sephiroth. Jenova had given them stories, everyday, every hour, every minute, of how perfect her Sephiroth was. How that Cloud had destroyed her Sephiroth. How they should strive to be like her Sephiroth.

They hated it.

They didn't want to look like him, didn't want to look the same as Sephiroth. Though they never openly said it, it was the little things they did that showed their rebellion. It had at first started with Yazoo. Though he kept his hair long and silver, his weapon of choice had changed. He used guns instead of swords, kept himself more feminine and smaller than Sephiroth. Because he didn't want to be Sephiroth. He wanted Jenova, wanted mother, to notice him. He was Yazoo, not Sephiroth. Then Kadaj had cut his hair, upset and angered that, by using a sword, mother only saw _Him_. Why did she never see Kadaj? It was the hair, wasn't it? It blocked his face?

But none were as defiant as Loz.

Loz hated Sephiroth from every fiber of his being. He hated his hair, hated his face, hated his smirk, hated his attitude, hated his strengths, and he hated his weaknesses. So Loz had decided to do the opposite of him. He cut his hair short and styled it with gel. He worked out constantly, delighted in getting more muscle mass, and ate more to make his face bigger. He got more in touch with his emotions, to know how others felt. To pity, to love, and to hate. He knew Jenova was the most upset with him, upset at the changes, and she hardly spoke to him unless to belittle and degrade him.

But that was fine.

Because it was Loz that she saw. It was Loz that she yelled at. It was Loz that she despised. It was Loz that had escaped the image of _Him_, and Loz was happy. Loz could cry at beautiful things, not Sephiroth. Loz could smile at a child, not Sephiroth. Loz could die, not Sephiroth. So Loz wouldn't have to put up with her, with Jenova, with mother, for much longer. Because Loz was tired of living with her, of living with constant reminders for why he was tired of living with her.

Because Loz is different from Sephiroth.

"Oi, crybaby! We need you to go kidnap that girl, Mary or something!" Loz smiled fondly at Kadaj, making him pause in speech, before he stood and hugged him.

"Loz?" His arm dragged off to the side and pulled Yazoo into the embrace, muffling his tears in their jackets.

Loz could hug and feel and love. Loz has brothers that he loves. Loz is different. Loz is special. Because he cries when he's hurt. He smiles when he's happy. He laughs when he's tickled. He screams when he's angry.

Because he is Loz.

"Loz! Let go of me!" Kadaj whined. Yazoo chuckled at the complaint and held them both closer. "Yazoo!"

And Loz is not Sephiroth.

* * *

**So get over it.**

**A Loz Fan**


	2. For Tifa

_A/N: Okay, I know that Red XIII/Nanaki is not a Moomba, but he reminds me of Mumba from Chocobo Racing. Therefore, I believe he is a form of Moomba, perhaps one of the first? Kill yourself if you can't find the idea believable or just wishes to bitch about it; my story, my rules, and it's my way of showing my appreciation to the characters._

_On another note; Loz and/or crossover fans, I have a very good crossover fic about Loz to recommend. A very cool person, going by the name of Merklin contacted me a bit ago and asked me to read his story. This guy was ultra cool, mega polite, and all around a person that you'd want to be friends with. But back off, cause I'm holding onto him and I ain't letting go. Anyways, check out some of his writing?_

_www dot fanfiction dot net/u/759990/Merklin (His profile link) I'll be beta-ing for him too. This one's for you, Merk!_

_One last thought for those who care: Wish to show your appreciation? Those little letters at the beginning starting with 'For You' and ending with 'A Fan' can have your names; If you wish for your words of appreciation to be heard then PM me a letter for the character you want and the name you wish to be used and that can be you down there. The letters signed 'A Fan' are purely my own._

* * *

**For Tifa,**

**One of these days I'm going to get a good look at the people who hates you and laugh at their reasons. Always appreciate yourself and don't let their comments get you down. You are more than just a big chest.**

**Sincerely,**

**A fan**

* * *

Tifa Lockhart calmly wiped the bar down as she closed up for the night. The regular customers waved her a goodbye, knowing they would see her the next day. A smile graced her lips, making some of the men and women smile back, thinking they were the reason for this smile. It was a regular occurrence. Ducking her head, Tifa chuckled. Though she loved her customers dearly, they were not the cause of her happiness.

Earlier she had received a call, a call that had made her heart skip beats. She blushed as she recalled how excited she'd gotten. Yuffie's voice, still so carefree, had rung like bells through her mind all day; lingering like the fragrance of a cherry blossom._ "Hey Tifa! I hope you don't mind me coming over to visit for a while? I miss you guys!"_ Tifa let a grin slip past her lips; part of Yuffie never changed.

"Goodnight, Tifa!" The young voice startled her, making her jump slightly; a feat neigh impossible for her. Another smile slipped past her; it was something that hadn't happened since she was a child.

"'Night!" Marlene smiled back at her and rushed up the stairs, leaving her to herself once more. Once the patter of her feet dispersed, Tifa sat down on a stool. Thinking of the past always led back to thoughts of AVALANCHE and her old friends, Biggs, Jessie, Wedge and Aerith. "I have to go visit them soon…" With a sigh, Tifa laid her head on the bar. Back then, things were hard, but simple. It was kill or be killed, save the world or die. Back then, normal wasn't something appreciated. Normal meant secrets, secrets usually led to Shinra, Shinra usually led to Sephiroth and Sephiroth would led to suffering, pain and death. So much death…

"Hey?" Tifa jumped up, hands balling into fist as she spun around, ready to defend at the first punch. Twice now; Twice she'd slipped into normalcy. Standing before her, Cid Highwind raised a brow. "Did I scare ya?"

"Cid!" Tifa's face split into a grin as she relaxed her stance. "Welcome home."

"Welcome home?" Cid guffawed, the laughter dredging up those old and recent memories in Tifa's mind. "I don't live here ya dumb broad!" The fighter winced at the word, trying not to take offence. Cid was Cid much like Barrett was Barrett; had he not of called her a broad she'd likely put him in her Limit Break and demanded her friend back.

"Seventh Heaven is always a home to my friends." The words were said with sincerity, making Cid stop and stare at her with the intensity she was use to seeing _back __then_. "Why are you here, Cid? Did something happen?" Cid gave a snort and reached into his pocket, pulling out a straw of hay. Tifa said nothing about it, knowing he was cutting back on smoking for her sake.

"Something has to happen for me to make a damn visit now? Fuck, have I really been that neglecting?" He sighed and chewed the hay. "No problems, kid. Just wanted to come over and visit. Ya don't mind, do ya?" Tifa shook her head, pleasure striking through her at the thought of her friend wanting to spend time together.

"No problem at all, Cid. Though it is a bit strange; Yuffie called earlier saying that she wanted to come over too."

"Really?" Cid sat on a stool beside her and propped his feet on the newly polished bar, grinning when Tifa grimaced. "How's the bint doin'? Seems like we haven't spoken since…" Tifa nodded, both lapsing into silence as thoughts of the past came up again. Sleeping in tents, arguing over who got the best food, always tensed for battle, feeling despair as they looked in the sky to see _It_ hanging above them…

"Yuffie's fine," her voice floated softly through the room. "She should be here in a few days, if you're willing to stay…?" Cid gave a nod as she stood. "I'll go fix you up a room. You," she threw her wash cloth at him. "You can clean up the mess you made." Cid gave her a worried look as she left the room, which she missed as her back was turned, before he cleaned off the bar again.

"Something's always got to be wrong now, doesn't it?" With a sigh he tossed the rag and flicked off the lights, heading upstairs and leaving the bar silent for the night.

* * *

"Hello." The deep voice made the three in the kitchen pause. Tifa looked up from the stove, Marlene turned in her seat, and Cid sat up from the beneath the sink.

"Vincent!" The quiet man nodded to them all and took a seat on a vacant chair. Tifa gave him a soft smile, happy to see another friend. "Welcome home." He raised a brow but said nothing to the comment. Tifa frowned worriedly. "Did something happen?" He shook his head, making her sigh in relief. "That's good. Why are you here then, Vincent?"

"…To visit." Cid laughed, standing from the floor and wiping his hands on his pants.

"Man, coincidence or fu-fate?" Cid winced, throwing a glance to Tifa whom was giving him a sharp glare. _No cursing in front of Marlene!_ "I came here last night for the same reason!" Tifa gave the two of them a grin.

"At the rate I'm going, I might actually have a full house!" The words made her mood turn melancholy. When she had first seen the building the thoughts to go through her head was how it'd be able to fit all of her friends. Only after they'd left had the thought of a bar flitted through her mind. "Are you staying the night, Vincent? Cid'll be here for a bit because Yuffie's coming over soon."

"I'd like to stay, if you'll have me?" Tifa nodded.

"Tifa, the food's burning!" Marlene's shout caused Tifa to panic slightly as her mind turned back to cooking. Vincent's red cloak had caught her eyes, reminding her of the dead Midgar Zolem she'd seen before. The one Sephiroth had so brutally killed. Less snakes had roamed the marshes since then. With a soft sigh she lifted the burnt food from the stove. Ever since the fights stopped she'd not been as paranoid as she use to have been. Normalcy would kill her one of these days, she just knew it. Behind her, Vincent gave her a piercing stare.

* * *

"Marlene!"

"Daddy!" The shout drew Tifa's attention to the back of the bar as she heard the gruff voice of Barrett Wallace call out to his daughter. She gave her customer a drink, thoughts drifting as she saw Barrett grab Marlene in a hug on bended knee. The scene was so familiar to the one in Aerith's house just years ago. After Aerith had gotten kidnapped by the Turks and taken to Hojo's lab, before they'd met Red XIII, rather Nanaki as they'd learned he was named, he had knelt in front of her, crying in happiness that she was still alive; that he had not lost her like he had the others.

"_Daddy, stop crying! Your whiskers are hurting me!"_

"Tifa?"

"Oh!" She jumped, cursing herself. Four times now. "Barrett! Welcome home." Barrett bit his lip, holding in the response she knew he wanted to give as he had Marlene sitting on his shoulder. "Are you here to stay for a bit or are you taking Marlene?"

"Nah, I'mma stay. I hear Vinnie's here and Yuf's comin' too. I saw Cid on the way in." He shifted, eyes roaming the place. "Listen' Teef…"

"Hm?" Tifa raised a brow in question as she noticed his discomfort. After a moment of silence, he shook his head.

"Nuthin', never mind. Thanks for taking care of Marlene for me."

"Oh, it's no problem at all, Barrett!" Tifa poured a drink for one of her regulars as he came into the store. "It's nice to have someone here. It gets kind of lonely by myself." She turned to grab another bottle, missing the sad look that crossed Barrett's face. "Anyway, your room should still be fixed up. Go into it whenever you like."

* * *

Yuffie entered Seventh Heaven with a bounce in her step and Nanaki on her heels. The sight of the two made Cid and Barrett get up with grins on their faces. "Well now, well now, lookie here! The little bint 's brought herself a pet dog!"

"Where'd ya find it?" Yuffie guffawed, arms opening to drag the two men into a hug.

"Good to see you too, Barry, Ciddie! Heya Teef, Vinnie, and Mars! Say hi Fluffy!" Nanaki shook his head at her exuberance.

"Hello everyone." Tifa rushed forward to hug Yuffie and Nanaki. Her "Welcome home" was accepted easily with thanks. She let go, thoughts on them but not in the now. As she looked at Yuffie she wasn't seeing the smiling girl in the doorway, but a girl with bloody armor and a giant Boomerang Shuriken swinging in her hand. _"Damn things just keep coming back!"_ As she looked towards Nanaki she saw not the well groomed Moomba that he was in her doorway, but the saddened pup that had learned the truth about his father's death. In her head echoed his howl of pain.

'_But things have changed…'_ Tifa gave an easy grin, half participating in the conversation going on. _'This isn't then. Things won't last forever…'_ Lost in her thoughts, Tifa missed the concerned looks thrown her way.

* * *

It was on the day the others were leaving that he showed up. Out of the blue, no warning, no call. Tifa wasn't sure if she wanted to smile, cry, or kill him. No one had mentioned the blonde throughout the entire visit, thoughts trying to stay away from that area. After all, no one had seen nor heard from him in two years. "Cloud?" The blonde froze in the doorway, face unsure.

"…Hello." The simple word caused a wave of activity. Shouts of "Cloudster!" "Spiky!" "Shit head!" and other names went though the bar. Tifa's eyes missed as everyone stood to greet him. Instead, she saw a mountain cave, all around the air was stagnant with ragged breathing being the only noise there. A stuffed moogle with a toy cat on it's head bounced towards her, it's childish looks deceiving the eyes from the skilled fighter it could and had become.

"_Tifa, we gotta get outta here!"_

"_No! Not without Cloud!" Their words echoed around the cave, now filling with the rumbling of an angry Lifestream. "He'll die without our help!"_

"_We don't have time for this!" Yuffie shouted, being the voice of reason in the short lived spat. "Cait Sith, grab her!" Doing as told, the moving doll grabbed a hold of a struggling Tifa and bounced away._

"_You owe me some new parts!" He shouted to Yuffie, ignoring Tifa's demands to let go. "She's tearing me apart; literally!"_

"Tifa?" The scene changed, becoming an old city where _a girl in pink kneels in prayer. Silver hair, a long sword, the blade through her stomach, a smile on her dieing face as her white materia begins to fall. _"Tifa, you okay?" Now they were back at the crater; _Cloud's eyes are full of rage and sorrow. A desperate and angry scream tearing from his throat as he slashes at Sephiroth one final time._ "Come on, Tifa, snap out of it girl!" A small boy with spiky golden hair _looks at her with a smile. "I promise."_ "Damn it, Tifa!" They finally saw his hand and _she reaches out to him, hand out in a gesture of different meanings. Please accept me, you're safe now, I'm here for you, come on, Cloud, you can make it!_

"Tifa?" A hand landed on her shoulder, bringing Tifa to attention. Her eyes traveled the arm up to the body, from the body to the worried face. A face with no scars to tell of the crimes it went through before; a false perfection. _'But scars run deep everywhere, don't they?' _Two years he'd been gone, two years they hadn't seen anyone, two years since AVALANCHE had officially disbanded…Two years…_'And we're all still stuck in the past, aren't we?'_

"Cloud," Tifa grabbed his hand from her shoulder and looked at him. A sixteen year old boy looked back at her and she smiled. "Welcome home." Cloud gave her a searching look, before a small smile graced his lips.

"Good to be home, Tifa." Perhaps normalcy wasn't so bad?

* * *

Tifa wished she could just say goodbye to the past, but a Turk at her door wasn't promising. With a sigh she looked to the newest addition to her household. "Denzel, go get Cloud." So much for normalcy.

* * *

**Tifa, **

**You're as human as the rest of us and your problems lie in more than male troubles. To others you are portrayed as a pushy mother hen. But to those who truly appreciate you, you are a human with worries and faults, with a bit more on your plate than the rest of us. Try taking a few bites instead of stuffing yourself full and you'll be finished in no time.**

**Save room for dessert,**

**A Tifa Fan**


End file.
